Release roundup: Tiny storage and big cases

We've already covered major releases this week—including new coolers and PSUs from Corsair and a compact mechanical keyboard from Cooler Master. Still, we had plenty of fodder for the roundup. LaCie, Mushkin, and Raidmax all sent us announcements about new products:

LaCie introduces its PetiteKey thumb drive. Remember the LaCie iamaKey? Geoff blogged about it a little over three years ago. Now, there's a successor: the PetiteKey, which is 30% smaller yet has the same tough metal exterior. In fact, LaCie claims this little USB thumb drive is waterproof "up to 100 meters" (328 feet). If you're ever in a shipwreck, your relatives will be able to recover your embarrassing personal documents and pirated TV shows. They'll have to get through the bundled Private-Public encryption software first, though. Asking price: $14.99 for the 8GB model. 16GB and 32GB variants are also available.

Mushkin touts world's fastest 30GB mSATA solid-state drive. Poised as a cache drive for ultrabooks and other ultra-slim portables, the 30GB Atlas SSD has an mSATA form factor and a SandForce SF-2281 controller, which delivers read and write speeds of up to 555MB/s and 365MB/s, respectively. Not too shabby considering the tiny footprint. Mushkin says the Atlas has been validated for both Intel Smart Response Technology and Nvelo's Dataplex caching software. You might find it rendering aid to sluggish 5,400-RPM hard drives in lower-end ultrabooks.

Mushkin expands USB 3.0 flash drive line. LaCie's PetiteKey doesn't seem to have USB 3.0, but Mushkin's new Ventura Plus drive does. Also available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB variants, this drive is capable of 200MB/s read speeds and 40MB/s write speeds. You can't take this one underwater, but Mushkin has nevertheless clad it in an aluminum housing rated for 10G of shock resistance.

Raidmax announces wide-bodied Cobra mid tower. According to Raidmax, the Cobra has been "designed with gamers' tastes in mind." As a gamer, I beg to differ—green LEDs aren't really my thing. Still, this enclosure has a nice set of features for the $69.99 price—and because it's wider than most cases, at 9.4", it can accommodate extra-tall CPU coolers (up to 6.9") while leaving plenty of room behind the motherboard tray for cable routing. (Raidmax says there's 25 cm of clearance, but I think they mean 25 mm, or 0.98". Oh, and the motherobard tray is painted day-glo green, incidentally.) Other notable features include USB 3.0 front-panel connectivity, tool-less drive bays, and room for up to three 3.5" hard drives, four 2.5" SSDs, and three 5.25" optical drives.

I've had an old, two-gig OCZ Diesel drive strapped to my keychain for the past five years or so, but that PetiteKey drive looks awfully nice. Maybe I ought to upgrade. Too bad about the apparent lack of USB 3.0 connectivity, though.